Difference between revisions of "Strobonar"

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'''Strobonar''' was the brand used by [[Honeywell]] for a long-lasting series of electronic flash units.
 
'''Strobonar''' was the brand used by [[Honeywell]] for a long-lasting series of electronic flash units.
  
The Heiland Research Corp., based in Denver, Colorado, originally used the Strobonar brand in 1950<REF>The 1950 origin date is cited in a May, 1965 ''Popular Photography'' advertisement (Vo. 56, No. 5; page 46).</REF> on electronic flash units powered by a separate battery pack.  (These could also use AC household power.) Several years after Heiland's acquisition by Honeywell, they introduced one of the earliest self-contained [[flash|electronic flashes]], the 1958 '''Futuramic Strobonar'''.  This was still an imposingly-large "potato masher" design, and the original list price of USD $59.95 would equate to roughly $470 current (2011) dollars<REF>[http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm Inflation calculator] from the US Department of Labor [http://www.bls.gov/home.htm Bureau of Labor Statistics].</REF>. Starting with the 1961 '''Futuramic II''', all the large Strobonar models had a distinctive oval lens over their flash-tube reflector.
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The Heiland Research Corp., based in Denver, Colorado, originally used the Strobonar brand in 1950<REF>The 1950 origin date is cited in a May, 1965 ''Popular Photography'' advertisement (Vol. 56, No. 5; page 46).</REF> on electronic flash units powered by a separate battery pack.  (These could also use AC household power.) Several years after Heiland's acquisition by Honeywell, they introduced one of the earliest self-contained [[flash|electronic flashes]], the 1958 '''Futuramic Strobonar'''.  This was still an imposingly-large "potato masher" design, and the original list price of USD $59.95 would equate to roughly $470 current (2011) dollars<REF>[http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm Inflation calculator] from the US Department of Labor [http://www.bls.gov/home.htm Bureau of Labor Statistics].</REF>. Starting with the 1961 '''Futuramic II''', all the large Strobonar models had a distinctive oval lens over their flash-tube reflector.
  
 
The Strobonar name was reused over the following decades for successive models, from more compact shoe-mount flashes to stand-mounted studio units with [[flash trigger|slave triggers]]. Honewell was a pioneer in flashes which used a photocell measuring light reflected back from the subject to control the duration of the flash pulse, thus offering autoexposure for flash shots—these models carried the '''Auto/Strobonar''' name. Later versions of the "potato masher" models, such as the Strobonar 882, could use a separate '''Strobo-Eye''' mounted in the camera's accessory shoe to achieve this control even with off-camera flash (and the [[Pentax_Spotmatic#The_Spotmatic_SP_IIa|Pentax Spotmatic SP IIa]] included this sensor in the camera body, just below the rewind crank).
 
The Strobonar name was reused over the following decades for successive models, from more compact shoe-mount flashes to stand-mounted studio units with [[flash trigger|slave triggers]]. Honewell was a pioneer in flashes which used a photocell measuring light reflected back from the subject to control the duration of the flash pulse, thus offering autoexposure for flash shots—these models carried the '''Auto/Strobonar''' name. Later versions of the "potato masher" models, such as the Strobonar 882, could use a separate '''Strobo-Eye''' mounted in the camera's accessory shoe to achieve this control even with off-camera flash (and the [[Pentax_Spotmatic#The_Spotmatic_SP_IIa|Pentax Spotmatic SP IIa]] included this sensor in the camera body, just below the rewind crank).

Revision as of 00:42, 21 December 2011

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Strobonar was the brand used by Honeywell for a long-lasting series of electronic flash units.

The Heiland Research Corp., based in Denver, Colorado, originally used the Strobonar brand in 1950[1] on electronic flash units powered by a separate battery pack. (These could also use AC household power.) Several years after Heiland's acquisition by Honeywell, they introduced one of the earliest self-contained electronic flashes, the 1958 Futuramic Strobonar. This was still an imposingly-large "potato masher" design, and the original list price of USD $59.95 would equate to roughly $470 current (2011) dollars[2]. Starting with the 1961 Futuramic II, all the large Strobonar models had a distinctive oval lens over their flash-tube reflector.

The Strobonar name was reused over the following decades for successive models, from more compact shoe-mount flashes to stand-mounted studio units with slave triggers. Honewell was a pioneer in flashes which used a photocell measuring light reflected back from the subject to control the duration of the flash pulse, thus offering autoexposure for flash shots—these models carried the Auto/Strobonar name. Later versions of the "potato masher" models, such as the Strobonar 882, could use a separate Strobo-Eye mounted in the camera's accessory shoe to achieve this control even with off-camera flash (and the Pentax Spotmatic SP IIa included this sensor in the camera body, just below the rewind crank).

As electronic flash units increasingly became a built-in feature of many cameras, and with inexpensive Asian imports undercutting the remaining marketplace, Honeywell ultimately retired the Strobonar line.

Notes

  1. The 1950 origin date is cited in a May, 1965 Popular Photography advertisement (Vol. 56, No. 5; page 46).
  2. Inflation calculator from the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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